Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan inaugurated amid protests with opposition claiming hundreds killed and internet blackout partially lifted
DODOMA: Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan downplayed days of violent protests during her inauguration ceremony on Monday despite opposition claims of hundreds killed.
The electoral commission announced Hassan secured 98% of the vote in last Wednesday’s election.
Main opposition party Chadema, which was barred from contesting the election, rejected the results and demanded fresh polls while calling the vote a sham.
Hassan called for national unity and solidarity in her inauguration speech while alleging some young protesters originated from outside Tanzania.
“Our defence and security agencies continue to investigate and examine in detail what happened,” she told officials and foreign dignitaries gathered at State House in the capital.
The ceremony occurred at State House without public attendance rather than the usual stadium venue.
A complete internet blackout persisted from election day until late Monday, severely limiting verifiable information flow from the East African nation.
A diplomatic source reported credible accounts of hundreds potentially thousands of deaths registered at hospitals and clinics throughout Tanzania.
Chadema informed AFP they had documented no less than 800 fatalities by Saturday though none of these figures could be independently confirmed.
The government has not commented on casualty figures except to deny allegations of excessive force by security personnel.
Schools and colleges remained closed Monday with public transport suspended and some Sunday church services reportedly cancelled.
The diplomatic source expressed concern that police were exploiting the internet shutdown to hunt opposition members and protesters possessing video evidence of last week’s violence.
Cybersecurity monitor Netblocks reported partial internet restoration Monday though significant social media restrictions remained active.
An AFP journalist confirmed the return of intermittent internet connectivity.
Dar es Salaam and other urban centres appeared calmer over the weekend under near-total lockdown conditions while basic commodity prices surged dramatically.
An AFP correspondent observed police stopping nearly all movement in cities while checking identification and bags and permitting shops to open only during afternoon hours.
AFP journalists on Zanzibar island, which experienced minimal protests, witnessed masked armed men without visible insignia patrolling in post-election days.
A Kenyan rights group presented footage Sunday allegedly collected from inside Tanzania showing piles of dead bodies in streets.
These images could not be independently verified while police circulated text messages threatening punishment for spreading panic-inducing or humiliating online content.
Pope Leo XIV called for prayers Sunday for Tanzania where he said post-election violence had erupted with numerous victims.
“I urge everyone to avoid all forms of violence and to pursue the path of dialogue,” the pontiff stated.
Hassan assumed presidency following her predecessor John Magufuli’s sudden death in 2021 and sought a decisive victory to consolidate her position and silence ruling party critics according to analysts.
Amnesty International described a wave of terror preceding the vote including multiple high-profile abductions.
Election day descended into chaos despite heavy security presence as crowds tore down Hassan’s posters and attacked police and polling stations.
Polling stations appeared largely empty before violence erupted according to AFP journalists and observers though the electoral commission later claimed 87% voter turnout.
“In some polling stations, they (police) were more than the number of voters,” an initial Southern African Development Community observer report noted Monday.
The observers reported opposition censorship and exclusion before the vote with their tentative conclusion being Tanzanians could not express their democratic will. – AFP
